"What are you going to do?"
"Well, if you can tell where General Wittigis is, I thought we might pay him a call."
"He's getting married today. I think he ought to be on his way to St. Vitalis' Church about now."
"You mean he hasn't married Mathaswentha yet?"
"No. There was some delay in getting his divorce."
"Quick, how do you get to St. Vitalis' Church?"
Padway hadn't hoped to be in time to interfere with Wittigis' attempt to engraft himself on the Amal family tree by his forcible marriage of the late Queen Amalaswentha's daughter. But this was too good an opportunity to let slip.
Unilas pointed out a dome flanked by two towers. Padway shouted to his guard and kicked his horse into a canter. The five hundred men galloped after, spattering unfortunate pedestrians with mud. They thundered across a bridge over one of Ravenna's canals, the stench from which fully lived up to its reputation, and up to the door of St. Vitalis' Church.
There were a score of guards at the door, through which organ music wafted faintly. The guards brought their spears up to "poise."
Padway reined in and turned to the commander of his guard, a Macedonian named Achilleus. "Cover them," he snapped.